From the press room
It’s time things changed, says UnitedFuture – 2008-08-01 13:26:45.771
UnitedFuture leader Peter Dunne says the last week’s events in Parliament have been disgraceful and will have confirmed for many New Zealanders that MPs fully deserve their low public approval ratings.
“While MPs as a group will never top public approval polls, I am concerned as a democrat and a strong believer in the importance of Parliament as an institution that its continued humiliation by such behaviour is bad for our democracy, and that things have to change.
“It’s time:
• The leaders of the New Zealand First and Act parties stop their personal attacks on each other, and concentrate on the issues;
• The New Zealand First Party provide a clear response to the funding allegations levelled against it;
• The news media stop acting like baying hounds on the issue, present what evidence it has fully and completely, rather than constantly drip feed it to titillate interest and sales; and let the public, not the commentariat, decide what has or has not been going on;
• The Labour and National Parties focus their attention on New Zealand First’s response to the funding allegations levelled against it, and not continue to walk around on eggshells for fear of upsetting a possible post-election partner,” he says.
Mr Dunne says he has deliberately refrained from commenting on the issue to date because he believed the primary onus was on New Zealand First to answer the allegations made against it, and that until that happened, interventions by other politicians and media were nothing more than “extraneous babble.”
“The problem is that the ‘babble’ has now taken over, and is both obscuring the original issue and rapidly destroying what remaining credibility Parliament as an institution has.
“We simply cannot have another week like the last one.
“I urge all those involved to stop the name-calling, the muck-raking, and the silly games, and address the issues, so that the public can make its judgement.